So are you telling me to just give up??

Question

I've been askin' a few questions on here about ballet, and my chances at getting good at by the time I hit college (which, i plan on majoring in dance, and when i say "college" i mean ANY college.. dance colleges included).
If you've read and answered some of my questions, you'd know that I love dancing and I am extremely passionate about it. I'm very excited about starting ballet and spending hours at the barre doesn't sound like complete druegery like it does to some people. I wanna be pretty famous when i grow up.......... at the Bass Hall in the next town from me. I don't need to be "international" or "worldy", i just wanna dance like the ballerinas at that theater. Maybe I'll level up from there, maybe I won't. Thank you for your encouragement, but to some of you who didn't: are you telling me that I should GIVE UP merely because I havne't been dancing since brith? What the significance of starting so early anyway? Do u just like telling people "it's too late"?

btw, i'm not trying to bach anybody. I'm not angry or anything. I'm just asking.
I'm not trying to destory anybody who didn't give me the answer I wanted, once again, i'm just asking. It's frustrading when people tell you you can't do something that you truly in your heart wanna do.... *tear*

Nope, Janine_rs, I wasn't enforcing this question upon anybody.
You have been very helpful in telling to think before i go tying my heart to a red balloon, and stating fact.

Answer 1

No one(at least I never did) would tell you not to take ballet or to give up on your dream. But because I do teach dance I feel the need to be upfront and honest with you about your goals and the truth is that you have set your sites really high. There is absolutley nothing wrong with that, however I am not going to lie to you and tell you that people who start ballet in college become pro all the time... that just doesn't happen. In your previous questions, you had asked about becoming a professional and the thoughts that I had given you were that ballet is a very competitive feild (and you did say ballet specifically... ballet and pointe work.) and that only the cream of the crop make it in the truly professional world. I told you though that you by all means should take ballet and hopefully you'll learn to love it as much as I do and also that you might be on pointe and be good at it by the time you go to college.
So don't give up on your dreams, no, just know that ballet is harder than it looks. That is the bottom line. I have seen a lot of girls start ballet in their teens thinking that it was going to be so fun and when the reality of how much harder it is than it looks hit them, they were very frustrated and ended up quiting. I just think that it is better to know what you are facing ahead of time so that you can be prepared. I think that everyone that is telling you to "forget what everyone else says and just go for it" is being unrealistic to either try to get a best answer vote from you or because they know nothing about the ballet world. I don't care about the best answer vote, I just want you to be fully informed.
Go for it for sure, just know that you will need to work your a $$ off to make it to Bass Hall. I wish you all the best in your ballet endevoure!

Answer 2

I don't know if I answered your questions or not..... At the risk of popping some ballons of hope, I tell most aspiring dancers - especially if they are female that their odds of being a professional ballerina are REALLY long, especailly if they started late. I also tell them that there is no reason not to try to become the best dancer they can be.
There are several factors that affect whether or not you make it.
1) Talent - I mean your "line" your "feet" and your body type.... without these all the rest of the factors mean little.
2) Teachers - obviously you need good teachers
3) TIme in the studio - you need up 15 hours/week in technique, pointe and rehearsal.
4) Desire and drive - gotta have it to put up with all the problems you are going to face

Good Luck

Answer 3

Hi Skullbeauty,

If you're aiming this question partially at me, then you need to re-read the answer I wrote to your question, "I am 15. What are my chances of getting to Pointe by college and being halfway good at it?"
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhMTG4NLkYiXditO2UUXn2Dty6IX?qid=20070607143149AAWBzaK

Note that I wrote:
"HOWEVER, that does not mean that a college dance program is impossible for you! There are many college dance programs that accept intermediate-level dancers. And, except for those top ballet programs, none of the others even require students to be on pointe. Pointe is just an elective class. By attending such a college dance program, you COULD aspire to dance professionally as a contemporary dancer."

Nowhere in any of my answers have I told you to give up.

I looked up Bass Hall and it turns out that there are two of them: Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, and Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas, which is part of the University of Texas Performing Arts Center. The first is home to the Texas Ballet Theater and both Ballet Austin and Metropolitan Classical Ballet have performed at the other one. Below are the links for you to read the bios of all the professional dancers who dance with those three ballet companies. If you review them carefully, you'll see that these companies are far from being low level. In fact, many of their dancers were part of other dance companies before moving up to them.

http://www.texasballettheater.org/about/companydancers.htm

http://www.mcballet.org/company_dancers.html

http://www.balletaustin.org/about/dancers.php

But I have to remind myself that you just found out what a ballet company is, so you have no way of judging anything I have to say. If you want to dance as a student with UT's Department of Theatre & Dance on the Bass Concert Hall stage, then by all means, go for it.

Answer 4

Never give up in what you want to do! i strongly believe that you're capable and talented to be a good dancer! people who told you to give up are just being mean, maybe cause they failed in themselves. nothing is impossible.more practices and more hard work, you will be a pro dancer! i admire you for at least having a chance to learn dance. never mind what others say or think abt you. as long as you know what you really want, go for it. yahoo answers have many people who support you! (: think over what you really want, if you're really in into dance, i suggest you go for it and do your best!

Answer 5

it isnt too late, but like i said in your other questions, it will take work and effort. do what you want to do, which i believe dance is a great thing todo, and try your hardest. like the first person said, screw the ppl who tell you its too late cuz it's not. but you will have to work harder than the ppl that danced since birth. but YES YOU CAN DO THIS!

Answer 6

Don't listen to people, better yet, don't ask them questions that they can't answer for you. They don't know you or your abilities or your environment. They are not even close to having enough information to make a guess.
You should asses your abilities yourself. Give it a try, see how it goes. If you are happy with your progress - continue. If you see it's not worth the effort - move on.

Answer 7

There are no guarantees in life, but if you work hard you will learn, and you will improve. Go for it and see where life leads you! and re-evaluate both your progress and your goals every so often.

Answer 8

Screw people that tell you to give up. Just do what makes you feel good. I have been playing guitar for years and I still suck, doesn't stop me. go for your dreams if you fail at least you tried. People are cruel and want you to fail.